Elections

Trump Says It Was A ‘Mistake’ To Retweet Unflattering Picture Of Ted Cruz’s Wife

Reuters

Chuck Ross Investigative Reporter
Font Size:

If Donald Trump had to do it all over again he would not have retweeted an unflattering picture of his GOP opponent [crscore]Ted Cruz[/crscore]’s wife. The real estate billionaire also thinks it would have been a good idea for his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, to have apologized for grabbing a former Breitbart News reporter last month.

The normally defiant Trump admitted to those campaign missteps during an interview with New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd that appears in Sunday’s paper.

“Yeah, it was a mistake,” Trump told Dowd about the retweet of Heidi Cruz. “If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t have sent it.”

The March 23 tweet, which has since been shared nearly 10,000 times, features an image of a blemished Heidi Cruz next to Melania Trump, the GOP front-runner’s supermodel wife.

“The images are worth a thousand words,” the tweet reads.

“Donald, you’re a sniveling coward, leave Heidi the hell alone,” Cruz responded the next day.

The thesis of Dowd’s column is that Trump’s comments and actions towards women have alienated female voters. With a 68 percent unfavorable rating with female voters, Trump would have a tough time taking the White House, especially if he faces Hillary Clinton. The columnist told Trump that he lost her sister’s vote when he retweeted the picture of Cruz.

Dowd also asked about an incident that occurred March 8 at Trump’s Jupiter, Fla. golf club involving Lewandowski and ex-Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields.

Fields claimed that Lewandowski grabbed her by the arm, leaving a bruise, as she was trying to ask Trump a question. Lewandowski vehemently denied the accusation, calling Fields “delusional.” The incident led to a mass exodus of reporters, including Fields, from Breitbart. Trump himself asserted that Fields may have made up the entire incident. But video taken from Trump’s club later emerged showing Lewandowski grabbing the reporter. He has since been charged with simple battery.

“Wouldn’t it have been better, I asked, if Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski had simply called the reporter Michelle Fields and apologized for yanking her arm?” Dowd asked Trump.

“You’re right, but from what I understand it wouldn’t have mattered,” he answered.

Neither Lewandowski nor Trump have issued an apology.

Dowd also asked Trump about abortion, specifically, whether he had ever been involved in any of his previous girlfriends having one.

“When he was a swinging bachelor in Manhattan, was he ever involved with anyone who had an abortion?” Dowd asked.

“Such an interesting question,” he responded. “So what’s your next question?”

Dowd did not follow up on the interesting inquiry.

Follow Chuck on Twitter